Corporate-quality financial reporting, built for businesses that have outgrown the reporting that got them here.

By the time a business reaches £5m, the monthly numbers usually exist. They are just late, hard to trust, and difficult to make a decision from.

The year-end accounts land nine months after the fact and answer nothing. The monthly pack is a P&L with no commentary. The forecast, if there is one, was built in a spreadsheet by someone who has since left. And nobody can say with real confidence which parts of the business are making money and which are quietly absorbing it.

That is not a bookkeeping problem. It is a reporting problem, and it is the one Northstar exists to fix.

<aside> <img src="/icons/directional-sign-right_orange.svg" alt="/icons/directional-sign-right_orange.svg" width="40px" />

What we do

Northstar is your management accounting and FP&A function. We own the layer between your bookkeeper and your board.

Every month:

• Management accounts out within days of month end, not weeks
• P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, with commentary explaining what changed and why
• A rolling forecast, updated with actuals, so the plan stays live rather than becoming a document nobody opens
• A 13-week cash view, so problems surface while there is still time to act on them
• KPI reporting built around how your business actually works
• A review call where we walk you through the numbers and what to do next

Same pack, same timetable, same standard, every month.

Most businesses at this size need some groundwork before a monthly cycle is worth much. Where that is the case, we do it first.

• Chart of accounts review, so the data is structured to answer the questions you actually ask
• Balance sheet work, so you can trust the position you are reporting from
• Reporting design, agreeing what the pack contains, who it is for and what decision it supports
• Systems setup using modern cloud and AI tooling, so the monthly process runs quickly and repeatably </aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/user-circle-filled_orange.svg" alt="/icons/user-circle-filled_orange.svg" width="40px" />

Who this is for

Businesses turning over roughly £5m to £15m, though complexity matters more than size. The fit is usually strongest where there are:

• Multiple entities or currencies
• Contract, project or stock accounting
• A lender, investor or board wanting reporting on a timetable
• Growth that has outpaced the finance function

If you already have a bookkeeper and a year-end accountant but nothing in between, that gap is what we fill.

</aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/map-pin_orange.svg" alt="/icons/map-pin_orange.svg" width="40px" />

What we don't do

We do not do year-end accounts, corporation tax, VAT returns or personal tax. We do not do bookkeeping.

That is deliberate. We do one thing, and the focus is what makes it good. We work alongside whoever handles the rest, and can introduce you to people we trust if you need them.

</aside>

<aside> <img src="/icons/map_orange.svg" alt="/icons/map_orange.svg" width="40px" />

How it works

1. A call. Thirty minutes to understand how your finance function works today, and what your reporting does and does not tell you.
2. A scoping review. We look at your current accounts, your chart of accounts and your existing reporting, then come back with what we would change and what the monthly service would look like.
3. Foundations. Any groundwork needed before the monthly cycle starts.
4. Monthly delivery. The pack, the forecast, the cash view and the review call, on a fixed timetable you can plan around.

Retainer based. Northstar clients are not billed by the day, so the incentive is to get you good numbers quickly rather than to spend longer producing them.

The usual answer to this problem is hiring a management accountant. Around £60k once you have recruited, managed and covered them, and you would still need a bookkeeper and an accountant behind them.

You would also be buying one person's experience, rather than a decade spent inside large global businesses.

</aside>

Northstar was founded by Billy Harding, a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA, CGMA) and CIMA Member in Practice, meaning the work is regulated and insured.

Billy spent a decade in finance roles inside businesses turning over £100m or more, most recently running the entire finance function for MRC Global's Norwegian business: a team of six covering everything from purchase ledger and credit control through to statutory reporting, audit and FP&A.

Recent work includes a programme of commercial finance delivered for Lanes Group, the UK's leading utilities and infrastructure provider, on their AMP8 contract with Yorkshire Water.

We own the reporting layer and work alongside your bookkeeper and your tax accountant rather than replacing them.

Book a free call

30 minutes, no preparation needed. Tell us what your reporting does and does not tell you today, and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.

https://calendly.com/billy-northstaraccounting/discovery-call

Contact

✉️  [email protected]

📞   07356 255356

Northstar Accounting Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales under number 16654393. Registered office: 10 Victoria Road, Ilkley, LS29 7HX.